Tackling Cake Competitions... A different approach...

Each year in April, there is a cake competition in the Philadelphia area to benefit City of Hope. And since 2011, I've entered the competition with a goal in mind. I'll bet you won't ever be able to guess what my goal was...ha ha

The first year, I'd never entered any type of competition before. In fact, I was still a baby to cake decorating.  I had only begun decorating 3 short years before. So for me, I felt very much "out of my league". To go up against bakeries and cake shops that have years of experience and awards under their belts was daunting. And quite frankly, my attitude was a little different than most. If I didn't think I could win, I didn't want to bother with the time or expense to enter. So... I approached it from a different angle than most would.

I researched winning cakes, and then set out to design my cake based on what it took to make a competition cake a "winning cake". I looked at how many various techniques were used, how well they were used, complexity of design, neatness and precision, etc. And I decided that whatever subject matter my cake was going to portray, it HAD to show a variety of techniques and mastery of each of them. Piping, stenciling, hand painting, modeling, sculpting, sugar work, gravity defying, etc. etc. And then I spent a great deal of time planning out the structure and sketching. Then set to work on all the details. It took a LONG time to complete the cake. But hey... It won! My first year, nobody knew who I was. No one had heard of me. And out of 5 potential awards, I walked away with Best Tasting, Most Artistic, and Best of Show. Not bad for my first competition. Hooray!!!

The second year was a little different. I had decided to merge my cake shop with another local shop and we wanted to collaborate on a cake to prove that together, we were a strong and talented team that could accomplish great things together. Again, we approached the design through the eyes of a judge. What would it take to make a winning cake. And we put quite a bit of time and energy into the cake. We spent more time planning and preparing for the build of the cake than we actually spent on making it. But in the end, it paid off. This time we won People's Choice, Best Use of Theme, and Most Artistic. As far as Best Use of Theme, well, the theme was "Under the Big Top". So you can see that we built an entire circus "under the big top". 

The third year and I believe my final year, the theme was "At the Movies". Since the merger with my business partner failed miserably, my new team and I decided that it was important to compete again to show that we were still a strong and talented group of artists who together could accomplish amazing things with cake. We wanted our customers to see that artistically, nothing had changed and we were still capable of producing phenomenal edible art.

So Clara and Kevin and I set out to plan our cake. This time around, we chose a theme we could have some fun with. And what's more fun than a Children's cartoon? We chose Beauty and the Beast. I have to say, of the cakes we've pulled off, it's the most AMAZING show stopper! My team kicked boo-tay! Again, we approached the design with the judges in mind. We wanted to show a variety of techniques and skill level. And with 3 of us working on the cake, there had to be elements we could each work on individually to show off individual talents and skills so when put together, the whole would be remarkable. It it was! 

 For the third consecutive year, Truly Custom Cakery, LLC received the award for "Most Artistic". I am so very proud of my team. My 19 year old assistant Clara created the Beast (all by herself with NONE of my help!), she did the rose, chandelier, and much of the castle. Kevin did all the stained glass work, sketched the whole design, airbrushing, and helped make sure that the characters had "life" to them. My tasks were Belle, Mrs Potts, Lumiere, and Cogsworth (with the help of Kevin). And when it was all said and done, it was AMAZING!

We've had it on display in our shop since April and it's such fun to see the reaction from our little customers as well as the adults. Oh yea... and my staff proved that we are indeed, an incredible team!  I love you guys! You're the best. I've never had so much fun at work and cherish all the laughter and ribbing that we have enjoyed. 

The Best of Mitzvah's!

Whether it's a Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, or B'Nai Mitzvah, it's a special event and a very important milestone! It's always exciting to get to create a special cake for these events. In fact, Mitzvah's are one of my FAVORITE events to design a cake for. It's the one time where we get to go totally nuts and so some really crazy and amazing stuff!

I hope you enjoy looking at these cakes as much as we enjoyed creating them!

A Plethora of Pretty Cakes

It's been crazy busy lately! So many wonderful and exciting things happening and so many late nights trying to keep up with it all. One day soon I plan to get some sleep! ha ha

In the meantime, I'll enjoy this phase of my life and thank God for the excitement and the adrenaline rush to keep me moving when I should be a zombie from lack of sleep.

Here are several of my recent cakes. It's kinda cool that I really like most of them. As decorators, even if the cake turns out the way the customer wanted, we sometimes just aren't "feelin' it" and when that happens, we just feel kinda "blah". But I've gotten some great orders lately. Bright, fun, and pretty. And well...it's no secret that I like pretty cakes!

Thanks for stopping by!

A Match Made in Cake

I am so excited to share this wonderful news! For a couple of months I've been working with a very talented fellow baker/decorator on plans to merge our custom cake shops and move into a retail location. All of our planning is coming together and we are very excited to announce that we will have plans to open our retail location before the Summer of 2012!

Suzy is an incredibly talented cake artist located in Penndel, PA. She's been featured in several magazines and has won some local awards for her work. Our skills and talents compliment each other nicely and we are very excited to be working together. Please feel free to check out Suzy's work at http://www.CakesbySuzy.com. One of the things I love is that our quality and look is similar. We are truly a Match Made in Cake! 

What does this mean for our customers? 

• We'll  have a showroom complete with displays and a place to do consults and tastings!

• Better Availability! With the move to a shop with commercial equipment, we'll be more efficient. We can focus on our strengths and delegate tasks accordingly. And that means that YOU will get better service AND a better product.

• TWO AWARD WINNING Cake Artists in one location! What could be better than that?

• A merger of our menu's which will give you more options. Over time, this will expand to include some specialty flavors. Stay tuned!

• More price points so that you can come to us for the big events and the small ones.

When is all of this happening?

We still have some details to work out and of course there are several different parties involved. We anticipate that we'll be open before June 1st of 2012, but we'll let you know an actual date as soon as we get it.

Where will the shop be located? 

• We are still negotiating the terms of our lease, but the proposed location is at 315 E Street Road, Warminster, PA. (Bucks County)

• It has easy access to the turnpike, I95, 611, and several other major arteries in the area.

Will I still have to order my cakes well in advance?


Our availability will be better once we merge, but we'll still be a custom cake shop. And custom cakes require advance planning and time. You won't need to order SO far in advance, but you will still need to order at least 2 weeks out for custom cakes. More detailed and larger cakes will need more time. So it's always best to contact us as soon as you know you are planning an event where you will be serving a "special" cake.

Will you have a greater variety of products available?


Over time we will start introducing some new and exciting options. However, our goal in the beginning is to focus on the orders we already have in the books and make sure those customers are well cared for during the transition. After we are settled, we'll start rolling out some new options!

Current Specials at Truly Custom Cakery, LLC

As you know from recent posts, it's been an exciting two years since we opened for business and our future success is contingent on our ability to continue growing and getting the word out to the Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia areas. Our goal is to reach the entire Philadelphia area with our Delicious and Award Winning Custom Designed Cakes.

So, every now and again I like to offer a special or two in an effort to spread the word about Truly Custom Cakery, LLC.

 We currently have three specials available!! 

To view these specials in detail, VISIT OUR WEBSITE. 

• We have 3 fixed price cake options for when you want a special occasion cake that stands out from the crowd, tastes AMAZING, but you don't want to pay custom cake prices.
• We have a $25.00 coupon for your custom cake order of $200.00 or more.
• AND most exciting, for a limited time we have reduced our minimum order to $150.00! 

To view these specials in detail, VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

The long road to inspiration...

I'm often asked where I get the ideas for my cakes. And sometimes I can give you a very specific answer. Like, the client was very clear, they told me what to do, I followed instructions, and there you have it. Other times, the route to inspiration is anything but direct.

This past spring one of my display cakes was being transported to a show, when the box that held it was picked up by a very disagreeable gust of wind, carried several feet, and thrown to the ground, where it was smashed into an unrecognizable mess. This was a very stressful moment for the caterer that was transporting my displays. (No worries, I didn't yell at him.)

The display cake before the wind took it on a wild ride.

It is moments like these that have a way of forcing your hand. There were no plans for an additional display cake. Over the past 2 months, I'd made six! As far as I was concerned, I was all set. But... ummm... yea, things happen. The smashed cake was the biggest display cake I had. It showed a variety of techniques and well... I figured if I had to remake it, I might as well take it a step further. The whole idea of a display cake is to show potential clients what is possible. For me, it's not about creating a cake that I can copy in the future. I just want them to see what their options are. And with very little time until the next show, I was a little stressed.

And I was quickly reminded that I often do my best work when I'm under the gun. I don't know why. It makes no rational sense... And yet, I was so pleased with the resulting cake, that I was happy the original cake was smashed. In fact, I decided that I no longer liked the original cake. Go figure!

Isn't it pretty!?! I really love it. It's so very romantic and soft looking.

A little later... I had the opportunity to make a baby shower cake for a client's daughter to match the theme of the baby's bedroom.

Isn't it cute!

Fast Forward to this fall... The same client saw that pretty display cake that I had to make under the gun this past spring. Seeing how they love all things super girlie and feminine and of course PINK, she wanted that cake used as the inspiration for the Christening Cake.

So, I was able to adjust the design down a bit to make the perfect Christening Cake for Janel's precious baby girl. I added a little more pink into the mix than the original cake had and we removed a few of the more mature elements. And Voila!




Isn't it interesting how cakes are born? Inspiration comes from all around, and you never know what will inspire you to create something new. Sometimes, even a disaster can result in something amazing.

Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!